³⁰ So what can we say? We can say that non-Jewish people who were not trying to gain God’s approval won his approval, an approval based on faith. ³¹ The people of Israel tried to gain God’s approval by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings, but they did not reach their goal. ³² Why? They didn’t rely on faith to gain God’s approval, but they relied on their own efforts. They stumbled over the rock that trips people. ³³ As Scripture says,

If You Believe You Will Be Saved

10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of the Jewish people is that they would be saved. ² I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to God, but they are misguided. ³ They don’t understand how to receive God’s approval. So they try to set up their own way to get it, and they have not accepted God’s way for receiving his approval. ⁴ Christ is the fulfillment of Moses’ Teachings so that everyone who has faith may receive God’s approval.

⁵ Moses writes about receiving God’s approval by following his laws. He says, “The person who obeys these laws will live because he obeys them.” ⁶ However, Scripture says about God’s approval which is based on faith, “Don’t ask yourself who will go up to heaven,” (that is, to bring Christ down). ⁷ “Don’t ask who will go down into the depths,” (that is, to bring Christ back from the dead). ⁸ However, what else does it say? “This message is near you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart.” This is the message of faith that we spread. ⁹ If you declare that Yeshua is Lord, and believe that God brought him back to life, you will be saved. ¹⁰ By believing you receive God’s approval, and by declaring your faith you are saved. ¹¹ Scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be ashamed.”

¹² There is no difference between Jews and Greeks. They all have the same Lord, who gives his riches to everyone who calls on him. ¹³ So then, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

6 All slaves who believe must give complete respect to their own masters. In this way no one will speak evil of God’s name and what we teach. ² Slaves whose masters also believe should respect their masters even though their masters are also believers. As a result, believers who are slaves should serve their masters even better because those who receive the benefit of their work are believers whom they love.

Guidelines for Living a Godly Life

Teach and encourage people to do these things. ³ Whoever teaches false doctrine and doesn’t agree with the accurate words of our Lord Yeshua Christ and godly teachings ⁴ is a conceited person. He shows that he doesn’t understand anything. Rather, he has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words. This produces jealousy, rivalry, cursing, suspicion, ⁵ and conflict between people whose corrupt minds have been robbed of the truth. They think that a godly life is a way to make a profit.

⁶ A godly life brings huge profits to people who are content with what they have. ⁷ We didn’t bring anything into the world, and we can’t take anything out of it. ⁸ As long as we have food and clothes, we should be satisfied.

⁹ But people who want to get rich keep falling into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires which drown them in destruction and ruin. ¹⁰ Certainly, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people who have set their hearts on getting rich have wandered away from the Christian faith and have caused themselves a lot of grief.

¹¹ But you, man of God, must avoid these things. Pursue what God approves of: a godly life, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight for the Christian faith. Take hold of everlasting life to which you were called and about which you made a good testimony in front of many witnesses.

¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and in the sight of Christ Yeshua, who gave a good testimony in front of Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ I insist that, until our Lord Yeshua Christ appears, you obey this command completely. Then you cannot be blamed for doing anything wrong. ¹⁵ At the right time God will make this known. God is the blessed and only ruler. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¹⁶ He is the only one who cannot die. He lives in light that no one can come near. No one has seen him, nor can they see him. Honor and power belong to him forever! Amen.

¹⁷ Tell those who have the riches of this world not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, they should place their confidence in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ Tell them to do good, to do a lot of good things, to be generous, and to share. ¹⁹ By doing this they store up a treasure for themselves which is a good foundation for the future. In this way they take hold of what life really is.

²⁰ Timothy, guard the Good News which has been entrusted to you. Turn away from pointless discussions and the claims of false knowledge that people use to oppose the Christian faith. ²¹ Although some claim to have knowledge, they have abandoned the faith.

God’s good will^[a] be with all of you.

Those Who Believe in Jesus Are God’s Children

5 Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Messiah has been born from God. Everyone who loves the Father also loves his children. ² We know that we love God’s children when we love God by obeying his commandments. ³ To love God means that we obey his commandments. Obeying his commandments isn’t difficult ⁴ because everyone who has been born from God has won the victory over the world. Our faith is what wins the victory over the world. ⁵ Who wins the victory over the world? Isn’t it the person who believes that Yeshua is the Son of God?

⁶ This Son of God is Yeshua Christ, who came by water and blood. He didn’t come with water only, but with water and with blood. The Spirit is the one who verifies this, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ There are three witnesses:^{[a] 8} the Spirit, the water, and the blood. These three witnesses agree.

⁹ We accept human testimony. God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony that he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony of God in them. Those who don’t believe God have made God a liar. They haven’t believed the testimony that God has given about his Son.

¹¹ This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is found in his Son. ¹² The person who has the Son has this life. The person who doesn’t have the Son of God doesn’t have this life.

Conclusion

¹³ I’ve written this to those who believe in the Son of God so that they will know that they have eternal life.

¹⁴ We are confident that God listens to us if we ask for anything that has his approval. ¹⁵ We know that he listens to our requests. So we know that we already have what we ask him for.

¹⁶ If you see another believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, you should pray that God would give that person life. This is true for those who commit sins that don’t lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I’m not telling you to pray about that. ¹⁷ Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, yet there are sins that don’t lead to death.

¹⁸ We know that those who have been born from God don’t go on sinning. Rather, the Son of God protects them, and the evil one can’t harm them.

¹⁹ We know that we are from God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

²⁰ We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we know the real God. We are in the one who is real, his Son Yeshua Christ. This Yeshua Christ is the real God and eternal life.

²¹ Dear children, guard yourselves from false gods.